The Titans are first in rush attempts and last in passes thrown. There's little deception to their attack.

“It’ll be 60 minutes of throwing punches to see who the first one is to get knocked out,” nose tackle Cam Thomas said.

But most of the run plays aren’t pure smashmouth. The Titans try to force defenders to run east-west, creating avenues for Johnson.

If the Chargers overpursue, Johnson (5-foot-11, 203 pounds) can cut back and go the distance. He gets up to speed fast. Few defenders can catch him from behind.

Chargers safety Eric Weddle and teammates didn’t have a good tackling game last Sunday against shifty Eagles back LeSean McCoy, who denied Weddle a safety in the end zone and made others whiff, too.

Johnson may not match McCoy’s lateral quickness and vision. But he is faster in a dead sprint.

In three games against San Diego -- each a Chargers victory -- he averaged 4.95 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns. After two games this season, Johnson's average is 3.3. Overall, the Titans rank 26th in yards per carry (3.1). With Chargers nemesis and power-runner Shonn Greene (4.9 average against San Diego in three games with the Jets) recovering from Monday's knee surgery, Johnson's workload could increase.

“We’ve got to do our best to limit CJ’s touches, and rally, and get 11 guys to the ball, and play tight D on the back end,” Weddle said. “We need to make them earn everything they get.”